The ten biggest online scams lost victims across the country £670million over 2014 – and this figure is likely to be far higher due to unreported cases, National Fraud Intelligence Bureau data reveals.

The case of a victim known only as Chris, who had thousands stolen by fraudsters who simply rang his bank to gain details and also conned his Facebook friends into sending money too, is highlighted by Get Safe Online.

It comes as a study found half of those who have been a victim of cyber fraud – which includes ID theft, economic losses, hacking and viruses - said they felt either 'very' or 'extremely violated' by their ordeal.

Huge threat: Cyber crime is growing according to statistics - we reveal the top ten most common scams below

The survey also revealed 53 per cent of the population now view online crimes as seriously as 'physical world' crimes, destroying the notion internet fraud is 'faceless' and of less importance than other offences.

It said that 54 per cent of cyber crime victims wish to unmask a perpetrator, but only 14 per cent have succeeded.

Just over half of 2,075 of those surveyed for Get Safe Online have been a victim of online fraud although only 32 per cent reported the crime.

It found 47 per cent of victims did not know who to report an online crime to, although this figure is expected to drop through the on-going work of Action Fraud, the UK's national fraud reporting centre - and the considerable Government resources now dedicated to fighting cyber crime.

It has dedicated £860million on a cyber security programme which supports the law's response to cyber crime.

TEN SCAMS: IN ORDER OF THE MOST COMMON

Rank

Type

Description

1

Cheque, Plastic Card and Online Bank Accounts (not PSP)

Involves, for example, cards and card details being used for gambling and shopping online, as well as debit cards being cloned

2

Other Advance Fee Frauds

Includes scams for PPI claims, scams involving compensation for bank charges, and motor scams where the buyer requests an upfront fee to secure the sale of the vehicle at a cost to the seller

2

Other Consumer Non Investment Fraud

Involves the purchase of items which are often subsequently found to either not exist, be inferior to those originally stated or are stolen

4

Online Shopping and Auctions

Online Shopping and Auctions Fraud involves a wide variety of methods, including bogus websites, or the exploitation of legitimate sale platforms and spoofed payment services, that whilst looking legitimate, are in fact controlled by the fraudster. Another recent scam involves fraudsters exploiting online shopping applications

5

Dating Scam

Involves the befriending of a victim over social networking or chat rooms and, after a relationship is struck, they use emotive reasons to persuade the victim to send money

6

Computer Virus \ Malware \ Spyware

Involves sending computer virus’ or programmes which are designed to harm the computers of the people who receive them

Involves advance fees/rent being paid in respect of rental of premises that don’t exist, are not for rent, are already rented or are rented to multiple victims at the same time

9

Ticket Fraud

Involves the purchase of tickets for an event such as a concert or holiday where it transpires that the tickets don’t exist, don’t materialise or are related to a company that doesn’t exist

10

Unclassified

Includes all other fraud by false representation or obtaining services dishonestly, that are not covered elsewhere.

Francis Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office, said: 'The UK cyber market is worth over £80billion a year and rising. The internet is undoubtedly a force for good but we cannot stand still in the face of these threats, which already cost our economy billions every year.

'As part of this Government's long-term economic plan, we want to make the UK one of the most secure places to do business in cyberspace.'

What can you learn from the victims of online fraud?

The study revealed those who have been a victim to cyber crime say the experience has 'shocked them' into changing their behaviour for the better.

Nearly half have opted for stronger passwords and are now extra vigilant when shopping online. More than a third always log out of accounts when they go offline and nearly a fifth have changed their security settings on their social media accounts.

In stark contrast, most people still don't have the most basic protection, with 54 per cent of mobile phone users and around a third of laptop owners not having a password or Pin for their device. That figure rises to over half for desktop PC users and is two thirds for tablet owners.

Detective Superintendent Pete O'Doherty, Head of the City of London Police's NFIB, said: 'Cheap and easy access to the internet is changing the world and transforming our lives.

'What many of us may be less aware of is that financial crime has moved online and poses a major threat to people of all ages and from all walks of life living in the UK today.

'Men and women, young and old, rich and poor – it matters little who you are, where you live or what you do.'

BANKING FRAUD: HOW ONE MAN WAS SCAMMED OUT OF THOUSANDS

Chris*, who tells his story in the video above, was recently the victim of online banking fraud, where criminals repeatedly gained remote access to his computer and changed his address on his bank account, thereby getting new cards sent to the new address.

This is what he said: 'I first discovered something was wrong when I logged online to my bank account and noticed money had been moved from one account to another account that I don't use anymore. When I looked closer, I saw money had been withdrawn from a cashpoint in Manchester on a day I was in London. I knew instantly I had been targeted.

'I immediately called my bank who confirmed it was fraud and froze my account. I went straight to my local branch and spent a while going through everything including ID and security questions. They changed all my bank details and put a block on any telephone banking. It turns out these fraudsters just called up the bank and by using my online details, pretended to be me in order to get my address and contact numbers changed so they could take my money.

'At this point, I thought that was the end of it. But they had tried to call the bank again the next day. My bank tried to call me but couldn't reach me. It was at this point I discovered they had hacked my BT account on my PC and emailed BT to redirect my home address to theirs in Manchester in order to intercept the Pin for a new payee – they were extremely sophisticated and would do anything they could to get hold of my money.

'I actually managed to speak to one of them from a number I got from BT. I confronted them and they hung up immediately. Again, I reported this to the bank and police and had someone clean up my PC's security.

'All in all, I lost about £2,400 over the counter and £300 from a cashpoint. With the help of Experian, I checked my credit report for signs of fraudulent activity. I worked with them because my bank account had the address changed twice so that fraudulent address was now linked to me which would affect my credit rating. Experian helped me remove that.

'To say I was angry was an understatement - their efforts were relentless.

'What made things even worse was that on my birthday where my friends and family had commented on my Facebook wall, they somehow managed to hack my Facebook and asked my friends via direct messages for money. My partner's dad, thinking this was me, transferred £900 to a bank account. It turned out he wasn't covered for this as he was scammed so he lost the money.

'I've been chasing the police to see if they've found these fraudsters but they are so difficult to track – which is frustrating as I want these people to get caught.

'This experience has taught me to be extra vigilant about online security. I 100 per cent ensure I log out of websites properly and have strong passwords. It's also been a massive wake-up call for my PC security, it just wasn't good enough before this whole thing happened. I also regularly check in to my Experian account to keep an eye out for any things suspicious.'

*Chris is a pseudonym.

HOW ONE GANG SWIPED $1BN FROM GLOBAL BANKS

Up to US$1billion - £650million - has been stolen in approximately two years from financial institutions worldwide.

The fraud was detected by cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab in February 2015.

The responsibility for the robbery rests with a multinational gang of cyber criminals, largely from Russia, Ukraine and other parts of Europe, as well as China.

The cyber criminals began by gaining entry into an employee's computer through 'spear phishing', infecting the victim with malware called Carbanak.